Guatemala
Adoption Alert - 3/30/10
Adoption Notice - 8/13/09
Guatemala is party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). The U.S. Government believes Guatemala has had insufficient time to implement reform legislation that would create a Convention-compliant adoption process, and as a result, Guatemala cannot meet its Convention obligations. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is not processing I-800A petitions because the Department of State is unable to verify, as required by Section 301(a) of the Intercountry Adoption Act (IAA), that the requirements of the Hague Adoption Convention have been met in cases from Guatemala.
The Guatemalan National Council on Adoption (CNA) announced in September 2008 that CNA will not accept any new adoption cases at this time. The halt is to enable CNA to work on establishing guidelines to use in accrediting adoption agencies and to focus on completing transition cases. More information about CNA’s decision may be found on its website, http://www.cna.gob.gt.
U.S. Embassy in Guatemala
Avenida Reforma 7-01, Zona 10
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Fax: 011-502-2326-4674
Email: adoptguatemala@state.gov
Website: http://guatemala.usembassy.gov/
Guatemalan Central Authority
National Council on Adoption (CNA)
Tel: 011-502-23390825/26
Fax: 011-502-23390835
Email: cna@cna.gob.gt
Website: http://www.cna.gob.gt
Embassy of Guatemala
2220 R Street, N.W.
Washington, DC. 20008
Tel: (202) 745-4952
Fax: (202) 745-1908
Email: consul@guatemala-embassy.org
Note: Guatemala has consulates in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco.
Office of Children’s Issues
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
SA-29
Washington, DC 20520
Tel: 1-888-407-4747
Email: AskCI@state.gov
Website: http://adoption.state.gov
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
For questions about immigration procedures, contact the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833).
DISCLAIMER: The preceding is intended as a general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country. Three sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1) the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the eligibility of individual children for adoption, as well as the adoption of children in that country in general; 2) the laws of the adoptive parents’ state of residence establish qualifications they must meet in order to adopt; and 3) U.S. immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States. In addition, the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, to which the United States became a party on April 1, 2008, establishes legal and regulatory requirements for intercountry adoption.
The adoption of children from countries that are party to the Hague Convention must follow the procedures outlined by the Convention, and its U.S. implementing legislation, the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA). More information on the IAA and the Convention can be found at www.travel.state.gov on the Children and Family pages on intercountry adoption.
The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of a child’s country of birth and is provided for general information only. Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes from time to time. This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date and is not legally authoritative. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel
Credits: U.S. Department of State - November 2009
